Welcome Message

Dear Participants,    

Welcome to the 2024 Research and Scholarship Conference, which brings together the 26th Undergraduate Exposition and the 32nd Graduate Research Symposium!  This is the tenth year of collaboration with the Office of the Provost and the Brinson Honors College to present the 2024 Research and Scholarship Conference showcasing scholarly research and projects from both undergraduate and graduate students. I express my sincere gratitude to you for sharing your excellent work with your fellow students, colleagues, faculty, and the greater WCU campus community. I also wish to highlight my appreciation with a heartfelt thank you to all participating faculty and staff mentors – your active student mentorship, support, and encouragement of their research is the hallmark of Western’s graduate and undergraduate education experience.    

We are hosting the 2024 RASC as a hybrid event featuring a variety of digital content from registrant’s posters, exhibits, and academic papers, which will open to the campus and community the week of March 20, 2024. On March 20, the Undergraduate Exposition and Graduate Research Symposium will host oral presentations of research from various subjects, a Keynote Address by WCU’s Dr. Brett Riggs and Dr. Jane Eastman, and an in-person poster celebration, and award ceremony for undergraduate and graduate presentations.

For many students, this will be your first opportunity to share empirical findings and creative works with the academic community. Today, you take a step in being recognized as a scholar in your chosen discipline. The skills you learn as part of the research process and your ability to convey that research in writing and in person will enable you to share your knowledge, intellectual passion, and commitment to ideas and to your discipline and profession. Congratulations on this significant milestone in your academic development!  

I encourage you to spend time on the 2024 RASC website to learn about the wide variety of research topics that are being explored by undergraduate and graduate students at Western Carolina University.  In addition, we will live stream the Keynote Address by Dr. Brett Riggs and Dr. Jane Eastman and post Undergraduate Exposition and Graduate Research Symposium’s digital content at GO.WCU.EDU/RASC. A full schedule of the 2024 RASC is provided at this address.  

It is my hope that your experience inspires you to continue to contribute to our understanding of all areas of knowledge in the arts, humanities, education, health, social sciences, business, and sciences. You are helping to shape the future and to create solutions to important issues facing our region, state, and world. What you are doing today as students is just the beginning of all you can do to make a true difference. Thank you and Congratulations!  

Jeffrey Lawson, Ph.D.    

Dean, Graduate School and Research